Infrastructure

“The HILL sits cheek-by-jowl with the busy business district which rises in stately tiers up from the harbor. Yet it enjoys splendid isolation. No major arterials send traffic barging over the hill. Major Traffic routes skirt the steep rise.”
–“Fortress Queen Anne,” Seattle Times (Johnsrud 1975)

July 4, 2017 marks the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, the Ballard Locks and of our beloved Fremont Bridge.

On July 4th from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, if they last that long, the Fremont Historical Society in cooperation with volunteers from the Queen Anne Historical Society will distribute souvenir cards commemorating the anniversary every time the bridge opens.

Update: 2/16/17

Speaking of the cause, it’s time to show your love with our 3rd Annual “HeartBomb!”

Show Your Love “HeartBomb”

1 PM, Tuesday, February 14,2017

KeyArena | Coliseum

BYOV (Bring your own Valentine)

Join us on Valentine’s Day to celebrate a unique, local Modernist masterpiece – KeyArena in the heart of Seattle Center!

Historic Seattle, Queen Anne Historical Society, Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, Docomomo WEWA, and friends will be showing our love for KeyArena (aka Washington State Coliseum) at 1 pm on Tuesday, February 14. We’ll gather for a group photo at 1:15 pm to show off our homemade valentines to this cool historic building. (The group photo will happen rain or shine!)

HeartBombs are a fun and creative way to bring people together and raise awareness about what’s cherished in a community — a sort of city-wide love letter about places that matter.

Why are we bringing the love?

The City of Seattle issued a Request for Proposals for the rehab and re-use of KeyArena, a world-class sports and entertainment venue. But there’s also a tear-down option. The landmark-eligible historic structure from the Seattle World’s Fair should be preserved. Read Knute Berger’s article for more of the backstory.

Participating in a HeartBomb event is one way to advocate for the building’s preservation and potential re-use. As Berger says, “it could be a win for history, sports fans and taxpayers.” Who doesn’t like a win-win?

Here’s how it works

Get creative by crafting your homemade valentine to the building. Add your message about why this place matters.

Bring your heart creation and join others for a group photo at KeyArena declaring your love. We’ll meet on the west side of the arena off 1st Avenue N and Harrison Street near the giant, concrete abutment (or “leg”).

Can’t join us for the group photo? Don’t worry. Take pictures of you and your handmade creation in front of KeyArena, and share them on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook with the hashtag #heartbombSEA, #heartbombKeyArena, and #IHeartSavingPlaces. Feel free to add why you “heart” this place and why others should fall in love with it, too!

In memory of Roger Billings, a staunch defender of our cobblestone streets.

Queen Anne is blessed (bicyclists disagree about that) with many cobblestone streets. Every fan of Queen Anne history knows that the stones provided traction for horses struggling up the hill. Most history buffs can’t explain their conservation, although their prevalence on steep streets suggests they helped both horses and horseless carriages navigate the slopes for a long time. Even though the street surfaces are not official city landmarks, they are charming anachronisms someone at the Seattle Engineering Department, now SDOT, decided to protect.

Looking west down Blaine at 7th.

The most notable Queen Anne cobblestone streets on the west side of the hill can be found at Blaine where it drops down off Queen Anne Boulevard at 7th Ave., and on Howe as it plunges from the steps below 7th to 10th. On the east side, there is a stretch of cobbles on Warren N. running south from Lee that the Fire Department favors. Queen Anne has the greatest share of Seattle’s 93 cobblestone streets with the east side of Capitol Hill a close second. …Continue reading “Cobble, Cobble, Cobblestones”→